Hospice Home

In recent years, a large and growing number of people who would benefit from United Hospice of Rockland’s care and services have not been able to do so.

Since 1988, United Hospice of Rockland has cared for thousands of our neighbors in Rockland and lower Orange Counties, providing the essential care and services that enable those who are seriously ill to remain in their own homes, and offering them comfort, dignity and control over the important decisions that impact their end-of-life care.



However, for our seriously ill loved ones, friends and neighbors who:

  • live alone, with no support system in place to complement Hospice’s program of care, 
     

  • live with an elderly or infirmed partner whose own condition prevents them from being able to provide adequate care or support,
     

  • come from institutional settings or return from having spent time outside the community, who have no home to which they can return, or
     

  • have families who are fearful of caring for their loved ones at home during their final phases of life,  

the options currently available in our community are limited.  Some end up living (and dying) in nursing homes, while others find they must leave the area - and their family, health care providers, clergy, neighbors, and friends - to enter a residential facility outside of Rockland County.  

United Hospice of Rockland’s answer to this considerable gap in services available to people in our community is to build a Hospice Home.  The Home will offer a residential environment, together with the full complement of Hospice’s comfort-oriented care and services including expert pain and symptom management, nursing care, assistance with the tasks of daily living (feeding, bathing, etc.), friendly visiting by volunteers, spiritual and psycho-social counseling for patients and their loved ones, and bereavement counseling and support groups for surviving family members.

The Hospice Home, consisting of approximately 10,000 square feet, will be situated on 11 beautiful acres in New City, amidst a peaceful setting of streams, woodlands, wildlife, and a pond. We anticipate serving 70-93 patients a year (representing approximately 3,000 days of care). The residence will be as home-like as possible, and will offer amenities such as:

  • Eight to ten private, spacious suites, offering space for visiting family members and convertible furniture for overnight stays.  (There are no “visiting hours” in a Hospice Home, family members may come and go as they wish.)
     

  • A “great room,” where residents and family members can gather to visit, read, watch television, play a game, or listen to music.
     

  • Private areas for family meetings and gatherings as well as prayer, meditation and contemplation.
     

  • Specially-designed bathroom facilities including a special “wheel-in” bathtub, radiant heat and other similar amenities.
     

  • Flexible dining options tailored to meet the special needs of each resident, including those who observe religious dietary laws.
     

  • Life-enhancing therapies, such as music, pet, massage and horticultural.
     

  • Special outdoor spaces, including gardens, paths and a patio that will accommodate wheelchairs and beds.


The existence of a Hospice Home would be an asset and will benefit our community in the following ways:

  • For the first time in Rockland County, families caring for a seriously ill loved one will have the additional option of  residential end-of-life care in our community.
     
  • Seriously ill individuals who cannot - or do not wish to - remain at home will be able to access residential end-of-life care without having to leave the community and distance themselves from their local support system of family, friends, neighbors, physicians and clergy.
     
  • Family members will no longer have to juggle work and home responsibilities in order make time to visit their seriously ill loved one in a residential facility in Westchester or New York City.
     
  • Seriously ill individuals who choose to live at the Hospice Home will be able to spend their final days, weeks or months in comfort, with control over their environment and the decisions about their care and with dignity.

The Hospice Home is the most ambitious undertaking in our 17 year history, and its success depends on the endorsement and support of the community we serve. Through a successful partnership between our community and our Board and staff, United Hospice of Rockland will be able to build the Home, adding this important and much-needed component to the programs and services Hospice offers for our patients and their families.

Please show us your support by completing a Letter of Support for the First Hospice Home in Rockland County and mailing to:

Clarkstown Town Board
Clarkstown Town Hall
10 Maple Avenue
New City, NY  10956
 

Uniting our Community
The Campaign to Build a Hospice Home

United Hospice of Rockland estimates the total cost of building the Home at $3,800,000, including the cost of purchasing the New City property.  We plan to finance the cost of the project through a combination of public funding and philanthropy. 

Accordingly, United Hospice of Rockland’s Board of Directors has embarked upon a major capital campaign to help fund the project.  Specifically, this campaign seeks to raise a minimum of $3,800,000 toward the cost of building the Hospice Home and an additional $1.5 million for endowment, for a total of $5.3 million.

We invite contributions of any amount to UHR’s Capital Campaign.  Many of our donors are stretching to make their most meaningful gift by extending their pledges over a period of three to five years.  Others are considering gifts of stock, which have significant tax benefits.  Still others are looking to endow the future of the Hospice Home by making a planned gift by bequest, trust, annuity or other vehicle.  We would be happy to work with you (and/or your attorney or financial planner) to identify the contribution method that best meets your personal financial needs.

UHR also seeks gifts of in-kind goods, services and materials related to constructing, furnishing, equipping, landscaping and maintaining the Hospice Home.  Please contact UHR to learn more about our specific needs.

United Hospice of Rockland is especially pleased to offer a selection of naming opportunities in gratitude for gifts in the five and six figure range.  Naming opportunities allow donors to permanently honor or remember a special person (or people) in their lives.

For more information about investing in the Hospice Home, please contact Lanie Etkind, Director of Development at letkind@hospiceofrockland.org or 845-634-4974.